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Home Central America and Caribbean Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala
See also: Yucatan, Guatemala and El Salvador 

Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala

Position of center of photo (Lat/Long): [14.76003/-91.56207]
Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala


The eruption of Santa Maria volcano (Guatemala) in 1902 was one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, forming a large crater on the mountain’s southwest flank. Since 1922, a lava-dome complex, Santiaguito, has been forming in the 1902 crater. Growth of the dome has produced pyroclastic flows as recently as the 2001 - they can be identified in this image.

The city of Quezaltenango (at the top of the image, approximately 90,000 people in 1989) sits below the 3772 m summit. The volcano is considered dangerous because of the possibility of a dome collapse such as one that occurred in 1929, which killed about 5000 people. A second hazard results from the flow of volcanic debris into rivers south of Santiaguito, which can lead to catastrophic flooding and mud flows.

Source of material: NASA

Further information: WikiPedia article on Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala

Last Update: 2007-Nov-05